#I really wasn't expecting people to read the reboot of this old thing!

[evilbihan]

Bi-Han's and Kuai Liang's father was not a good father

And now it's no longer a theory. Now I have proof.

The last thing I expected to get out of this very strange invasions mode season was confirmation for a theory I've had ever since I first finished the story mode. Despite other characters in the game claiming that the father of the Lin Kuei brothers was an honorable man, something about that never sat right with me, given how cruel that man was in all the previous timelines and how vastly different Bi-Han views his father compared to his brothers, Liu Kang or Sindel.

I made this discovery on the mesa of Shang Tsung's laboratory.

At the very beginning of the mesa when you come in through the portal and head to the right (your character's right) towards the two crates that are next to each other, there's a node featuring a fight against Scorpion.

That node, loosely translated from my language, is called "Daddy's favorite".

It might seem like a small and meaningless detail and maybe I'm reading too much into it, but if the name of that node is anything to go by and if it's a reference to MK1's canon lore (which it has to be, otherwise I don't see why it would be there) this adds a whole new layer to the tragedy of the falling out between Bi-Han and Kuai Liang and Bi-Han's decision to let his father die.

Was he neglected? Despite being the oldest son and the grandmaster's heir, Kuai Liang was the favorite son. He was his father's pride and joy, not Bi-Han. That explains Bi-Han's bitterness and his resentment towards his father as well as his eagerness to earn the respect of others. Because his own father didn't give that to him.

Sub-Zero: I helped you, but I've earned no respect. General Shao: Because there's nothing lower than a traitor.

Johnny Cage: I thought I had daddy issues. But you? Sub-Zero: My family is none of your business.

Would a good father have a "favorite son"? Should a good father not love his sons equally, without picking favorites?

Another small but noteworthy detail is one of Bi-Han's invasions mode encounters being named "Joyless initiate" (again, loosely translated because my game is in my native language, not English). You have to wonder what kind of life Bi-Han lived for the game to refer to him that way and how much of that is owed to his father's strictness or lack of care towards him since he wasn't the favorite son. It certainly implies Bi-Han faced hardships that the main story never really talked about or even mentioned.

It might not seem like much, but I'm sure some thought was put into making these nodes and the references and hints exist for a reason.

I'm aware that a lot of people think the father of the Lin Kuei brothers was a good guy, but as a reminder, in the original timeline, Bi-Han's and Kuai Liang's father was ruthless enough to kidnap the brothers from their mother, potentially even killing her and their younger sister in the process, and turned them both into assassins for the Lin Kuei. Of course, the reboot is set in a new timeline, but as I said in my previous post, all characters are still essentialy the same. Some backstories and allignments have changed, but not the character's personalities and even in this new era, the old grandmaster is no saint.

I think it's messed up that his response to the Lin Kuei killing Smoke's entire family and turning him into an orphan was to take Tomáš in and turn him into a warrior for the very clan that murdered his family.

Sure, some might view it as a noble gesture that he took responsibility for the mistake he made and decided to give Tomáš a home after he was orphaned, but if that man cared at all about Smoke's wellbeing, he could have found a better solution for the situation. He could have told Liu Kang about what happened and asked him to let Tomáš stay at the Wu Shi academy instead of turning him into an asset for the clan that killed his mother and sister.

While that's only a side note, it proves that Bi-Han's and Kuai Liang's father had a twisted idea of what it means to be a good parent if he thought that taking in the son of a family his own warriors murdered was the "honorable" thing to do without sparing a second thought to what that was going to do to Smoke mentally.

Anyway, this subtle hint is one of the few good things to come out of this invasions mode season and I'm glad I found it.

[roobylavender]

Omg I'm glad I found a fellow new teen titans hater (or at least critic) because while I think Wolfman had some really neat ideas it really amazes me how so much of what he's written for Dick is like the polar opposite of his character for 40 years and how people ignore that simply because they don't read golden/silver age batman... like I hate reboot Nightwing as much as anyone but it's crazy to me how people think he's always been the most anal about his moral code as if it didn't take years for him to develop it after watching Bruce (like in canon: https://64.media.tumblr.com/f20ae729d626788129a371dab7f790db/5b84ba907a5dc5f9-ac/s1280x1920/e0e719108502d4fa51364eb748450141fd1bcedd.png), or how he'd give up college/a day life to be Robin when in canon he was the one all gung-ho about going to college while Bruce hoped for him to stay home (and ironically enough Bruce quit Wayne Industries himself so he could focus full-time on being Batman lmao: https://64.media.tumblr.com/48945b33fa70a2bfbded0fe6c83017d0/68e853c82fce0d82-5a/s1280x1920/32e3b3ab44fa7364ca82eb63bb8c6d5bbbbb7132.png), or even that Dick wouldn't have the patience to mentor children or something when the literal purpose of creating Robin was to be a role model for children to relate to and sef-insert themselves as his friend, hence why he always excelled in school and sports and stuff...like Bill Finger even created this concept of "Robin's Regulars" to show that Dick liked kids and inspired them (https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wpPLG-yJpJw/S5v2_3KXjdI/AAAAAAAADnM/1aOMBWuCmT0/s400/robinsregulars.jpg)... the good part is that NTT took place when Dick was just 18-19, I can easily pass it off as his angsty phase that he grew out of in the same way Peter's Ditko era is passed off as his edgy college kid phase in-universe that he outgrew thanks to his friends lmao

admittedly i think trying to ascertain any kind of moral code from bruce or dick in the golden age is a bit of a directionless endeavor bc the writers switched things up soooo often depending on whether they want to pander to morality or comedic value 😭 like there's a golden age issue where bruce quite literally lets= someone die in an electric whirlpool of some kind omds it was hysterical. but yeah interestingly with wolfman i like a lot of the things he did with dick as a character if i view them as developments resulting not only from his personal foray into adulthood but also from the distance that started to grow between him and bruce. it was completely logical for dick to reassess a lot of the things he wanted back when he thought it was going to be him and bruce forever versus at present when bruce clearly no longer wanted to sanction him being robin and dick took that to mean he wasn't good enough (even though bruce was merely being protective and trying to respect dick's own ability to choose his own path in life). the problem with wolfman is that rather than portray it as a series of newfound assessments made in context of newfound developments in dick's life, he wrote these assessments as if they had been lodged in dick's mind since the day he was taken in. which to me at least seems to diminish the significance of dick's development into a more agitated, hyper-emotional control freak. it's not supposed to be something that's always been there. it's more latent. dick's belief in himself with respect to his relationship with bruce sort of hung by a thread for the entirety of their tenure together. that's what happens when you let a nine-year-old become a vigilante and spend nearly nine years together thereafter fighting crime with him as your exclusive partner. it builds expectations, hopes, dreams. for his entire life dick was building up to this.. fantasy almost. and when he went to college it still wasn't so bad because even if there was a desire to be independent he still felt like he had bruce's support. the fantasy remained intact. it was only when dick started to realize that being in college hindered what he really wanted to do with his life, and then bruce opposed him on it, and then they proceeded to disagree on a number of other things—as respectfully as they could admittedly. that was the nice thing about the early 80s. they actually talked in the truest sense of the word—and then bruce finally cut the cord (so to speak) on robin existing as a required extension of batman, that the floodgates really opened. every latent positive emotion that dick had ever felt in his life because of what he believed bruce had given him unconditionally was suddenly up for dissection. and that's how you proceeded to get the neurotic ticking time bomb we know and love so well today. or at least that's how i like to conceptualize it in my head

[danwhobrowses]

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 - Quickfire Review

Finally. It's been longer than intended for me to watch this movie, I should've been writing this last week but I had the completely baffling scenario where the cinema people came in and say they 'didn't have the feature'. But finally I went and watched it so here are my quick thoughts on the matter.

Spoilers for the Movie

So I unsurprisingly enjoyed this a lot, I wouldn't say it's the best Guardians film, I think the first still sneaks the top spot, but they are all hits and it's the best MCU film since No Way Home.

I was quite surprised with a lot of things, but Rocket being on death's door for two thirds of the film was the most unexpected, paired with no character dying. I'm not too mad about the latter mind you, it was just surprising.

I read a non-spoiler review though that said that Adam Warlock wasn't in it enough, and while I can see why people may think that, I thought the limited time he had worked in his favour. The infant-like mentality - set up by the Sovereign saying he was awakened early - did add to the comedy and he was never gonna be comic accurate given that Vision stole his whole Infinity Stone shtick. While him joining the new Guardians made sense, I will say that Phyla-Vell felt a little thrown in there though but it was just a mid-credits scene so it won't mean that much.

The High Evolutionary is great though, like pure maniacal god complex, which helps to stand out against other MCU villains who often get painted with a layer of sympathy or manipulation. Chukwudi Iwuji depicted the role brilliantly and if Marvel do get put in a corner with Kang they can easily slot him into the role. For new side characters I also felt that all of Rocket's old buddies did well, Linda Cardellini especially as Lylla.

The plot itself was very emotive, centering mainly around Peter and Rocket being haunted by their past (the former having to also confront Gamora during it all), and Nebula's struggle to express herself. While this did leave Drax, Mantis and Groot to mainly hover around the side, and Cosmo and Kraglin to hover wayyyy far back over the side. Rocket's backstory though is brutal, and Peter's development towards acceptance and seeking out his family on earth was a solid payoff. I do especially like that neither of the daughters of Thanos ended up with Peter at the end, Gamora found her home in the Ravagers yes but she took home some lessons from the Guardians, and Nebula and Peter would've felt a little forced.

While the Guardians splitting at the end makes sense, and Drax getting some respect as a parental figure was nice, I do feel like Mantis going alone was perhaps the most bitter of the group going their separate ways, I enjoyed her character but she wasn't given a lot of substance, and I feel she was a little depowered here compared to when she sedated Ego and Thanos in previous movies. I hope at the least given how Star Lord will at least return that the Guardians will reunite once more, even if it's for another Holiday Special.

Also can't talk about Guardians without the music, and it's quite good, I suppose it's the quality you expect from the film after so many movies. Starting with Creep was a unique call, but I did enjoy them using Dog Days Are Over for the final scenes of the movie. Since You've Been Gone by Rainbow always puts me in a good mood though, mainly because of the Pot Noodle commercial that used the song.

I could probably dig into it more, but this is meant to be 'quickfire' and this is the eighth paragraph so in conclusion, really good movie, it has emotional weight and comedy, its focus on animal cruelty does make you pensive, the new characters were fun, and the conclusion will leave you content but also hopeful, despite Gunn setting sights on rebooting the DC universe, to see the group again.

[talkingpointsusa]

Debunking Charlie Kirk on student debt relief

Every time I watch Charlie's crap my eye is automatically drawn to that bizarre ass Eagle head impaled on an American flag in the background. (source: Charlie Kirk on Rumble)

Charlie Kirk, he's a profoundly bizarre human being. The fact that he's as serious a figure in the Republican party as he is should horrify all of us. Anyway, Charlie has thoughts on student loan forgiveness that are about as dumb as you might expect. Lets get into it.

10:57, Charlie Kirk: "Where was Joe Biden yesterday? Was Joe Biden staring into the heavens to look at the Eclipse? Was Joe Biden taking a nap in the East Wing? No, Joe Biden was in one of the states he believes will decide the entire election."

So....campaigning. This isn't exactly a new concept in politics. Trump does it too Charlie.

Also, Charlies really trying to go for that "dramatic newsman" thing in this episode. He has a newspaper with him on the desk and he reads that Biden has rebooted student debt relief right off the front page as if it were about JFK getting shot.

Anyway, the thing that Charlie is pissed off about is Joe Biden unveiling a new student debt relief plan. If this plan goes through, it could relieve the student debt of almost 30 million Americans. Given the increased cost of living, which particularly affects students, this is an objectively good thing. Given that we as a society obviously want more people to go to college and learn the skills that they need to contribute to society, this is a total no-brainer. Speaking of no-brainers, here's Charlie's take on the issue.

13:11, Charlie Kirk: "What is this, actually, what Joe Biden is doing? This is naked bribery."

So, this is Charlie Kirks angle on this issue. He thinks that it's bribery. If Biden doing a good thing for Americans is bribery, then every semi-decent president who has put in debt relief and economic programs has also engaged in bribery. All this does is help Americans through college and that's absolutely a good thing.

Charlie's position on this is wildly unpopular by the way. According to a 2023 Bloomberg poll, 47% of Gen Z voters believed that Biden wasn't doing enough to relieve student debt at the time. That same poll showed that 59% of Gen Z voters approve of Biden's plans to cancel 127$ billion in student debt.

13:42, Charlie Kirk: "Remember, as we say frequently here on this program - tyrants have two ways to hold on to power. Fear and free stuff. Fear and Free stuff. Fear and free stuff. In one week you have seen grandmas be sentenced to prison for praying in the capitol, a week later Joe Biden goes away to give free stuff for college students and college graduates in Madison Wisconsin."

I was curious as to what Charlie was talking about regarding the old woman praying so I did a little digging. Turns out it's more January 6th apologetics.

The person that he is referring to is a woman from Falcon Colorado named Rebecca Lavrenz who was at the Capitol on January 6th. She was inside the Capitol which is an illegal act of trespassing on a federal building. Plus, she was part of a mob that intended to overturn a presidential election. Whether or not she was praying is completely irrelevant here. Unless Charlie's saying that it's OK to commit crimes as long as I'm praying while I'm committing the crime.

Also, fear? Very few people even know that this case even happened. I'm not buying the idea that prosecuting people for crimes is some kind of intimidation tactic because that's extremely stupid.

14:39, Charlie Kirk: "And the Biden plan is, no joke, to give most student loan relief to those who have been the least responsible in their behavior. That's right, the people that have paid off the loans the worst. So not only is this debt forgiveness, not only is this bribery, but if you've been paying off your student loans your a sucker."

Or those people are struggling financially and need more help than others. I guess helping others out isn't in Charlies lexicon.

15:03, Charlie Kirk: "If you're a plumber, an electrician, a welder, if you're a police officer, a firefighter, an entrepreneur. If you served our military and didn't go to college, Joe Biden says 'heh, get out of the way.'"

I know that Charlie is having a blast listing jobs that come to his mind but are those people students? This conversation is about student debt relief and those people listed have steady and oft well paying jobs. They're extremely important to our society but those people aren't necessarily financially struggling like many students and recent graduates are.

Student debt relief actually helps the economy.

15:13, Charlie Kirk: "It is the individuals that studied North African lesbian poetry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that are not able to pay of their loans. They're the ones that Joe Biden is attempting to bribe."

This is a huge Charlie Kirkism, it's also a pretty big Ben Shapiroism. If you consume nothing but right-wing media you'd assume that there are armies of people taking majors that don't easily apply to the job market and that these people deserve it for....studying something they're interested in I guess.

The problem is that it's not true. According to the National Centre for Education Statistics, the number one most studied major in the USA is business. Hmmm, that's pretty far from North African Lesbian Poetry (which by the way sounds like a really fun major but I won't belabor the point), maybe the second most studied major is more in line with that. Oh wait, the second most studied major in the United States is health, so studying to become a doctor or a nurse. As a matter of fact, all of the top ten are extremely traditional majors.

Number 9's journalism. That's me, yay :D

When you tally up all the percentages, you'll find that these ten majors make up for 75.9 percentages of degrees. But I'm sure that the 25% are the people who getting all the student loan forgiveness because they majored in North African Lesbian Poetry. Either that or Charlies argument doesn't make sense, like at all.

Also, if you look at the average salaries for all of these careers you'll find that Charlies argument about all these majors being low paying and financially unviable is totally ridiculous. If you calculate the average salary out of all of the salaries listed it comes up with $62,900. Seems like people are pursuing financially lucrative majors but seem to have something else holding them back...something else that can be relieved maybe.

15:49, Charlie Kirk: "Now what would make sense is making it so students can't take out these loans to attend the schools that have no financial value in the first place, wouldn't that be nice? Stop giving loans to gender studies and race studies. Stop letting people borrow $150,000 dollars for a photography degree."

"Yeah, why don't they just not give out loans to people taking courses that I don't like?"

Also, here's an interesting and often unacknowledged fact - people with degrees in gender studies make bank. According to Data USA, gender studies majors make an average wage of $85,454 a year and the industry is growing. But the point still stands that 3 quarters of American college students aren't getting degrees in things like gender studies and photography so its a moot point.

16:16, Charlie Kirk: "So who gets most hosed in this system? Anyone who was responsible. There are millions of ways -- there are millions of people who avoided college to avoid debt. Other people went to lower ranked schools on scholarship. Some people did AP classes in high school. Some people went to community college first. Some people did a stint in the military just to get the GI money. All of you are losers."

So, Charlies got two arguments here.

1): Just don't get an education - again, most nations have figured this out and offer college for free. As it stands now, college is extremely expensive but increases your chances of getting a job. So really this argument is just stupid because it reinforces a terrible system that Biden is somewhat helping to fix (although I personally am a believer in college being entirely free like in many European nations)

2): We shouldn't make any progress because that's unfair to the people who struggled before the progress was made - if you take what Charlie is saying here to its logical conclusion society wouldn't move forward at all because we'd be caught up in how unfair progress is to people who didn't get to benefit from that progress in the past.

Conclusion:

Charlie Kirk is usually a pretty good pulse for what the right-wing griftospheres take on new policies will be. Charlie really just trotted out the usual right-wing talking points about student debt relief that don't really make any sense. For a guy who runs what is supposedly a right-wing student organization, Charlie not only took the single most unpopular position on this issue but the stupidest.

Cheers and I'll see you in the next one.

Sources:

Original Video:

“Biden’s Student Loan Bribe + the Ukraine Money Pit | Mansour, Sacks, Klingenstein | LIVE 4.9.24.” Rumble.com, 9 Apr. 2024.

Student Debt Relief:

Douglas-Gabriel, Danielle. “Biden Makes Another Pitch for Student Loan Relief, but Challenges Loom.” Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024

Browning, Lynnley. “What to Know about the Latest Student-Loan Forgiveness Plans.” Intelligencer, 2 Apr. 2024.

“Biden Forgave Billions in Student Debt. Poll Shows It’s Not Enough for Gen Z.” Bloomberg.com, 14 Dec. 2023.

Griset, Rich. “How Wiping out All Student Loan Debt Would Change the Economy.” Fortune, 3 Jan. 2022.

“10 Most Popular College Majors.” Coursera,

Miller, Dan. “What Would Be the Impact of Canceling Student Debt?” Investopedia, 9 Oct. 2023.

Woman praying in the Capitol:

Keith, Tony. “Falcon Woman Known as “Praying Grandma” Found Guilty for Her Role in the U.S. Capitol Riot.” Https://Www.kktv.com, 8 Apr. 2024.

[tarnishedxknight]

2. How did you get into this franchise/fandom? 3. What's the best thing about the show/series/books/comics/etc.? 4. What's the worst thing about the show/series/books/comics/etc.? 14. Are there some characters from the franchise you can't stand? 19. If you could sum up your character with one sentence, what would it be? ((for all of them!)) 20. Which song do you feel describes your character the most and why?

{out of dalmasca} Alrighty, here we go! XD Under the cut for length.

2. How did you get into this franchise/fandom?

Well, I'm ridiculously old (I turn 43 next week, dear gods how did I get this old?!), so I got into the Final Fantasy franchise in general back in 1994 with FFVI, which was essentially a later reboot of FFIII that had originally been released in 1990. From there I played FFVIII and loved it, played FFIX and hated it, then I adored FFX, and then FFXII is my favorite one to date. I started playing FF games mostly because my friends were at the time, and then later on my (now ex-)boyfriend was playing them, but I tended to like different games than he did (his favorite was FFVII and I never got very far into that one).

As far as getting into the FFXII fandom, I basically just loved FFX so much that I figured I'd buy the next single-player FF game that came out, expecting the quality to be the same. It... was better, heh. So I'd already been loving FF games and a lot of other RPGs at the time and it sounded right up my alley. Once I got a decent way through the game, I absolutely fell in love with Basch/Noah, Balthier/Fran, Larsa, and several others, so I guess at that point I decided to immerse myself in the fandom. I got very into the sound track and started looking up information about the game and the Japanese manga after hearing that the original game had been altered and chopped up to make Vaan/Penelo the protagonist instead of Basch/Noah. So after that I got very much into reading any and all information I could find about Basch and Noah's background and history that wasn't included or was edited out of the final version of the game. It wasn't until very recently that I decided to start rping in the fandom on this site.

3. What's the best thing about the show/series/books/comics/etc.?

Oh, I can't pick just one, are you kidding me? XD The music is beautiful, the art style is gorgeous, the world is detailed and expansive, the voice acting is top notch, and the gameplay is genuinely fun. But I guess what I love the most is the story and characters. The story is so complex, detailed, and intriguing, and the characters are nuanced, engaging, and you really cared about their problems/plights/goals. The game holds your interest and makes you not only want to play it to pass time or just for the sake of playing a game, but also to advance the story and find out what happens to all these interconnected people.

4. What's the worst thing about the show/series/books/comics/etc.?

The butcher job they did on it. Because they suddenly thought that nobody wanted to see an angsty middle-aged man as a protagonist, it was changed from Basch to Vaan. Vaan... is a grating, whiny, obnoxious teenager that 95% of the fandom hates. His and his friend Penelo's story was kindof thrown in as an afterthought to "fix" a problem that didn't exist and change the protagonist. The problem with that is... it's supposed to be the main plot but it feels like an afterthought. Which then destabilized the whole plot as far as where the player is supposed to be focusing their attention. The more interesting plots become side plots, and this Vaan and Penelo thing gets forced on you when you really just don't care.

Also, because they did this, they removed an entire chunk of game from the middle-end of it because it was largely dealing with Basch and Noah. When they did this, they didn't carefully edit the last act of the game to account for the omission. So the last act refers to things that were removed or has things that don't match up and feel like continuity errors because the things they referred to or previous events that lead to later ones were omitted without explanation. It's so obvious that the game was mangled, and it's just a crying shame. If they had left it alone, it would have been amazing.

14. Are there some characters from the franchise you can't stand?

VAAN. Vaan. Vaan. It's Vaan. I can't stand Vaan. Penelo isn't half as bad, but she's not good either. She's just... there. But both of them I dislike for OOC reasons. Vaan is irritating and uninteresting. Penelo is one-dimensional and boring. That's just the fault of bad writing and editing. Now... Vayne... I also hate, but that's for IC reasons. The man is a narcissistic sociopath, an adroit liar, and an arrogant, smug asshole. I also have never been able to stand Vossler. He's... He gives off skeevy creep vibes and I just can't listen to him for too long, heh.

19. If you could sum up your character with one sentence, what would it be? ((for all of them!))

Haha okay get ready for some long-ass sentences. XD

Basch is a walking oxymoron of a selfless, gentle, and kind man and a battle-hardened knight and general who gives freely of himself to support, uplift, motivate, and protect those around him as he navigates the brutal war that destroyed his homeland with an inspiring amount of hope for the future.

Ashelia is a spirited and opinionated young princess who overcomes her biased, sexist, sheltered, and privileged upbringing to gain humility and perspective, become a champion for her people, and help bring about lasting peace for her kingdom while learning to set aside personal grudges and her own fierce pride.

Noah is a resilient and tenacious survivor who, despite feeling and being told he is lesser and harboring a deep and lifelong anger towards his brother, gave his life in every way possible to bring about stability and peace within a brutal empire and end the war that destroyed his homeland and his peace of mind.

20. Which song do you feel describes your character the most and why?

You all are probably tired of hearing about these songs on this blog by now, but here we go, haha:

Basch: "Broken" by Sonata Arctica

So I just realized that the fanvid of Basch that someone made to this song that I've loved for years now has been taken down from YouTube, so that makes me sad. That vid was really well done. But anyway, "Broken" will forever be my theme song for Basch. It does have the focus of him pining for Ashe but it's so much more than that. Every time I hear it, I think of him, heh.

"I was raised from a broken seed. I grew up to be an unwanted weed." Those lyrics make me think of him being a twin without his twin, a broken seed, but also "seed" is sometimes used to describe a person's personality or morality, such as being a "bad seed." If Basch is a "broken seed," then there's something inherently wrong with him, and there always has been, right from the start, which is how he views himself. Later lyrics "A little broken, always been," reinforce that idea. And being an "unwanted weed" makes me think of him being displaced from Landis. A landless person struggling to fit in elsewhere. Even in Dalmasca, a land he loved and considered his home, he was still a foreigner, a "weed."

"Held a torch for you when lightning struck me" makes me think of him trying to protect Ashe and even her father, or anyone else he tried to shield, not caring if he's hurt as long as his charge is safe. "Once again, hoped I'd died for the last time," makes me think of how tiring it must be to keep giving of himself and to be that shield for others, and every time he's put in that situation, he hopes it's the last. But of course it never is.

"Only one, I have a thing greater than you. A little light on the sky, every night." His "only one" is Ashe, and as much as he loves her, there's something that's even stronger inside him than that love, and that's this "light on the sky," a guiding star "every night," which I interpret as Basch's undying and unshakable hope that he always walks around with.

"Morning dew on the field where I met you. I was frozen a year, couldn't get through." I mean, he was imprisoned for two years, not one, but close enough, haha. But yeah this makes me think of him being stuck in prison and not being able to get to her to protect her and guide her to the Stillshrine as her father asked him to do.

"Fell in love with the weakness within me. Tried to force me the ring and own me. Guess you found what you'd think would oblige me, a little version of me to consume you." So... the "weakness" is his love for Ashe, and "force me the ring" makes me think of how his feelings for her first began when he saw her married to Rasler and realized that he felt sadness and a little jealousy for the first time. So "the ring," or her marriage is an unwanted thing that's being forced upon him to accept, he has no choice but to watch her be married to someone else. The "little version of me to consume you," makes me think of how Ashelia took Basch for granted a lot, just assumed he'd always be there, and related to him as she always had, with limited information about who he really was because he didn't talk about it. So it was like... she had her own idea of who he was that she "loved" in her own way, and Basch feels like that has to suffice, like that has to be enough for him, even though it isn't.

"I'd give my everything to you, follow you through the Garden of Oblivion." I mean, the first part speaks for itself, and the "Garden of Oblivion... the person who made the fanvid put a clip of Giruvegan here, and that's perfect. Giruvegan was this really weird, ethereal, trippy place that was like on the edge of reality, and Basch literally did follow Ashe there, heh, so that fits really well.

"If only I could tell you everything, the little things you'll never dare to ask me." So this could be about his love for her, but I always headcanoned that Ashe wanted to know more about Basch, his past, his family, Landis, etc. and Basch really just never spoke about much of it to her. That's why she never knew of Noah's existence until after her father's assassination.

"How can you love this exile? And how can I desire you when my pain is my pain, and yours is too?" I mean... Ashelia literally was in "exile" or hiding at least for two years and continued to be until she got knee deep in winning back her throne. But also, the idea of Basch taking on the pain of others that he loves is a big theme with him. If he loves you, then your problems, your traumas, your losses, your pain... becomes his, because he will care about them to the same degree that he does his own.

"Seven lives of a man pass before me. Seven graves, one for every love I've had," really fits for Basch because throughout his life, he has lost the people he loves. It seems to keep happening to him and around him, and yet he keeps living on. I feel like sometimes he wonders why. "Only once I have broken my so-called heart. Only one made me see why they cry." Well that is obviously about Ashe, heh. I always headcanoned that, because Basch was so closed off and never had a family of his own, that he'd never been with a woman. So everything he knew about women he heard from other knights and soldiers. This line to me makes me think about him hearing from others about broken hearts and failed relationships, and Ashe is his only experience with that in his own life.

"Will I learn how to be one of you someday? Will I still feel the eyes that behold me?" makes me think about Basch wanting to fit in, to be loved, to be Dalmascan, but he's just... not. And feeling eyes on him is a big theme for his character throughout the game. He's judged, slandered, hated, and mocked everywhere he goes because of the false understanding the masses have that he murdered King Raminas. So he's gone from being beloved, trusted, and respected to being a complete social pariah.

"Will I hear what you think when you see me? And will it tear me apart if you feel for me?" is again about Ashe, heh. He keeps his love for her silent. Completely. There are moments in the game (I can think of at least three or four) where he watches Ashe from behind or the side when she's looking elsewhere, and he just... considers her silently with this gentle reverence. But he never tells her how he feels in canon until Fortress, the sequel that never happened. Finally in the storyboards for that unfinished game, Basch confessed to Ashe that he loved her, some ten years after the end of the FFXII main game. So that line to me embodies this silent and distant way he loves her, both because he's a closed off person but also because he feels his love for her is wrong in several ways. And if she were ever to reciprocate his feelings, he wonders if it would tear him apart, which I translate into... he wouldn't even know what to do with her love if he had it because it's something he does not ever expect to have and has never even considered the possibility of it existing. It would be a good thing, but it would also shock him considerably.

I could go on and do the whole song but I won't, haha. But almost all of it is just so perfect. I'll end with, "Heaven's closed, Hell sold out, so I walk on Earth, behind the curtain, hidden from everyone, until I find a new life to ruin again." This is about Basch existing in this in-between of society, coming from a destroyed homeland and now dealing with the next homeland potentially being destroyed as well, and coming from being a respected knight to a "kingslayer" whose name is despised throughout Ivalice. He walks around in this state of feeling like he ruins everything he touches, moving from life to life, ruining them as he goes, somewhere in between heaven and hell.

Ashelia: "Cry No More" by Vaults

To me, this song embodies Ashe's growth as a character and what her coming-of-age arc is all about, and that's why it's my #1 theme song for her. This song for me is about Ashelia transitioning from princess to queen, from civilian to warrior, and from victim to survivor. The lyrics "I don't wanna cry no more. I don't wanna die a little more every day," reminds me of how she was born in war, grew up in war, and all she knows is life from the perspective of her, her family, and her kingdom being under threat from war. And she's tired of it. She's tired of crying and dying inside at every loss and setback and injustice. She doesn't want to cry anymore or be passive, she wants to take action, for her and her kingdom.

The chorus is meaningful as well. "To pull yourself from harm. To be the braver one. To raise a weary hand in a house that's built on sand. To wear it like a crown. To kick before you drown. To fight it, and to cry no more." This is about her fighting back and owning it instead of being a victim. She's not letting life happen to her anymore, she's making it happen, and she chooses to fight back and do something before she "drowns." It's also about her becoming the leader Dalmasca needs instead of a child whose life is dictated for her.

The "house that's built on sand" is just too perfect because Dalmasca is a desert country, but also to me, being built on sand means its unstable. It could collapse at any time, figuratively and literally. So in this uncertainty and instability, she's choosing to make a stand.

"To wear it like a crown" is also relevant, as Ashe's story is really about her quest for the throne of Dalmasca, both figuratively and literally. She wants to sit on that throne and wear that crown and become queen, but she also has to grow as a person and earn that honor before she can be the queen her people need.

"Will I be the warrior? Or will the axe shine clean? Steely-eyed, your blood'll burn. I will save our lives." That to me is about determination, fierceness, and tenacity. It's about her making the choice to move from being a sheltered princess who was never permitted to see or engage in the war around her, to becoming a warrior herself, and again that ownership of the leader she is becoming and that her people need. Before her husband and father died, she was basically meant to be shuffled from one man (her dad) to another (her husband) and to take this passive backseat in her own country's fate, as decided for her by others. Here she's asking herself, am I going to stick to that life or am I going to become a warrior myself? And her choice is that she's going to fight back and save Dalmasca.

Noah: "Heavy Is The Crown" by Daughtry

First of all, let me say that Chris Daughtry has an absolutely amazing voice, and his edgy, growling, yelling style has the exact energy that I feel from Noah quite regularly when I write him. He's also got an edgy, nonchalant, alpha-male sort of style to his singing, and that matches Noah too. So it's not only the lyrics of this song that fit him, but the feel and passion as well. If you watch the video, Chris' whole vibe matches Noah's energy for me so well.

Alright, so Noah was never a king and didn't wear a literal crown, but the idea of the phrase "heavy is the head that wears the crown" really has to do with leaders bearing a ton of responsibility, having a lot of problems, being in a lot of danger, and having a lot to worry about. Their burden is great. As the sort of unspoken leader of the Judge Magisters and the one whose example kept others from rebelling and potentially destabilizing the Archadian Empire, Noah as Gabranth really did wear a heavy "crown." He's constantly aware of his precarious political and military position and who/what he's keeping at bay and why, and it's no small burden to him. But it's one that he has worked hard for, bears with no small amount of tenacity, and will defend to his grave.

"Never needed any reason to find deliverance." This for me is about never needing to explain himself or to try to escape his past. Instead, he embraces the pain and trauma his past has given him and uses it to fuel him. "Like a cancer running through my veins, oh... it's never gonna give in," could be more literally about the nethicite poisoning he acquired as a boy, or it could be more figuratively about the abuse he suffered and how it will always stick with him wherever he goes.

"See them march like lambs to the slaughter. Toy soldiers, line up on the altar. I was never meant to drink that water. They'll remember me when I'm underground." This is him saying he's not just going to be another statistic or a face in the crowd. He's not going to fall in line and be forgotten to history after he's "underground," meaning dead. He was "never meant to drink that water," he was meant for something more. He was meant to lead, not to follow. This is about Noah wanting to acknowledge what shaped him but then wanting to rise above it and to become someone important. He wants to make something of himself that will be remembered.

"Heavy is the crown. Never falter, never let 'em bleed you out. I'll be still standing when they try to bring my castle down. I'll never bow down." Now, some might say well, he did bow to Vayne when he killed Drace. Yes? Outwardly? But that was a calculated move for the higher purpose of keeping stability in the empire, not because he was subservient to Vayne. And he does challenge Vayne at the end of the game to protect Larsa. But regardless, this chorus to me is just about Noah's tenacity to survive and not be a victim anymore. He will never bow down, he's gonna go out fighting. And he did in the game. But it's also about the phrase "never let 'em see ya sweat," heh. Basically, that means... no matter how much someone gets to you, how much things bother you, or how bad you feel... project strength and push through. Persevere. Don't let them catch you faltering. And he had to do a great deal of that as Judge Magister in the face of challenges from his peers.

"When the weight of the world crashes, pushing you closer to the edge, you find a way to get a little bit stronger, to fight off the demons." If this isn't Noah to a T, haha. He's constantly on "the edge," especially my version of him is. I write him perhaps a bit more emotionally volatile than canon or than other people's interpretations. He keeps it together where and when he needs to, but in private, he falls apart. He has to, because he's got to release that stress. With Basch in the game, that stress came to the forefront, and his usual outward composure really slipped, but other than with him, Noah usually kept a close guard of his emotions. But that doesn't mean he still didn't feel crushed by the weight of everything, it just means that instead of letting it crush him fully, he uses that pressure to make himself stronger. Diamonds from coal, right? XD

But one last important line for Noah is, "Everything will fade away. Nothing in this world is meant to stay." Even in the game itself, Noah was always keenly aware of the passage of time around him, the loss of life, the impermanency of power and title, of war and peace. Everything is always in flux, and nothing and no one lasts forever. Having lost so much, no one understands that better than Noah.

His building of this persona for himself, this "crown" that he wears... it's not for himself. Sure, he has something he needs to prove to himself, or maybe to Basch, or to life in general... and that's just that he's a survivor that won't be cast aside or beaten down. But beyond that, the power that Noah amasses is not for himself. It's not so that he can usurp the throne or amass his own empire or conquer other lands or anything like that. All the power he accumulates is so that he can protect Larsa, whom he sees as the future of the empire, and therefore to do his part in orchestrating an end to the war. He knows he will not live to see the end of the war. He knows he won't get to reap the benefits of his hard work and power. And that's fine, he doesn't need to. Everything he does is for the future of Ivalice, not for himself. With, of course, the exception of his outbursts to Basch, haha.

This all got SO LOOOOONG, I'm sorry! But thank you for sending these in, they were a lot of fun to answer! ^_^

[onelonecritter]

@piperamitt

Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for your kind words, and I’m glad that you liked it!!  In all honesty, I’m not quite sure if I’ll make a sequel to this creepypasta just yet, mainly because I wanted to leave the ending open for the reader’s imagination.  I will admit, the thought is tempting, though it may take a while before I get around to it.  Rest assured that if I do, it will be going up on here, for sure!

[scifimagpie]

I Wrote About The Future; Then It Happened

So, you might have noticed a bit of a lack of blog posts over the winter. Well, this time it's not (just) depression eating me alive. I made a thing - two things, actually.

Consider this a soft reboot, and a perfectly good starting point in the series. Book 3, The Meaning Wars, follows two characters: Sarah, the weary Behavioural Criminal arrested for associating with dissidents, and Crystal, a wormhole engineer dissatisfied with her marriage and the safe, boring jobs she's been taking. Linked by friendship and their Martian origins, the two women fight ongoing trauma to reclaim their senses of self.

Book 4, Poe's Outlaws, finds Crystal and Sarah pursuing intersecting paths. Sarah has become a smuggler, wrapped up in a rescue mission to save a revolutionary leader (who happens to be her inspiration and her crush). Crystal is taking a much-needed vacation, but an old flame, the one who got away, is about to throw her life right back into chaos. The only way out? Friendship, teamwork, and possibly, a revolution. It's a beach episode featuring queer love, aliens, and derring-do.

I'm working on book 5, A Jade's Trick. I'm past the halfway point, but for a few months, I got completely stuck. Part of it was debating on the tone for the ending. War threatens, and I had no idea how to resolve the conflict. Should I choose something idealistic, where the corrective safeguards of the system work, or something drastic and grim, a more realistic vision of power dynamics? I couldn't choose, and it felt like a very abstract question.

Then war came to Ukraine, and I got a tiny taste of what it might be like to stand in Crystal's boots.

Apocalypse Turducken

Being in the late? portion of a pandemic, as very hurried politicians insist we are, and having that pandemic overlap with the disruptive attack on the American election (followed recently by a halfassed attempt to do the same here in Canada, with the farcical embarrassment of the trucker protests) [links], I wasn't exactly expecting more calamities. But the universe isn't really into following scripts or plot arcs or anything sensible like that - no, those are human constructs meant to carve chaos into coherence. I wasn't counting on a paranoid, ruthless dictator deciding that the lull after the second pandemic Olympics was the perfect time for his colonial power-grab.

And I really wasn't prepared for the war to affect me personally. In addition to the fact that my male partner is Ukrainian, a very dear friend is a Kievan native. She has been displaced by the conflict, and she and her mother are scrabbling to make ends meet in a different city. Hopefully, this displacement won't be permanent.

We've set up a fundraiser to help her and her mom while these events are going on. This is a fundraiser to help her and her mom not only get a tablet for her to work on as a graphic designer (her laptop is in Kyiv...), but also to help them get by for the next while. Her mother's job at the library is kind of out of commission right now, and it's possible that they'll have to emigrate elsewhere for safety.

Before this whole war thing got started, I also knitted her a sweater inspired by Yoongi of BTS's famous - and expensive - designer yellow sweater. Proceeds from the sale of the pattern will also be going directly to Katya, to help with resettlement costs. There is a chance that we're going to have to help her migrate to Canada, so anything you can give will be greatly valued.

Thank you all for reading my work and checking out these fundraisers. If you can't give, please share this article on social media.

***

Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partners-in-crime and their cats. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people’s manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.

Find her all over the internet: * OG Blog * Mailing list * Magpie Editing * Amazon * Medium * Twitter * Instagram * Facebook * Tumblr * Paypal.me * Ko-fi

[emma-what-son]

I think even Dan himself said he expects HP to remade in about 10 years there is too mcuh money in it for WB not to. - I read another ask about Bonnie which made me compare the HP cast attitudes mentally. The thing is not just Bonnie, but Grint has also mentioned in the past that he wouldn't be too thrilled with a reboot. Back when Cursed Child came out, Grint had talked about being supportive of the new actor but feeling weird bcs someone else was playing what he considered to be a part of his own self (boundary between Ron and Rupert quote). So it's pretty obvious that apart from the fact that most of the old cast know part of their commercial value that derives from Potter fame would take a hit, they are also understandably and genuinely attached to these roles they played and got lucky with. But with Dan, I've seen that he's never expressed any possessiveness for Harry if he feels it. He has talked about this possible reboot bcs he's aware of the cash grab it would be for WB. Also, when Harry was played by actor Jamie, he only discretely had a bouquet of good luck sent to him, which they both mentioned in interviews so the story added up. He didn't try to steal the new guy's thunder and maintained that he had no scoop to give bcs he wasn't involved. Compare this to the huge publicity stunt Watson pulled. It was so ridiculous, looking back. The huge media coverage and the fan euphoria that night at the theatre. She also had a photoshoot done. Back then I viewed this as her just being supportive of the new Hermione. But thinking about it now, she made the whole damn thing about herself in a huge,huge way! I wonder how the new cast felt about it, although they had to show up for the photo op. Heck, even Rupert and some others went to watch but nobody made such a procession about it like EW. She even went and wrote that big essay on her ig and twitter apart from the media coverage to ensure nobody missed it. Way to milk the cow! It makes me laugh now, how it was treated like some sort of blessing ceremony by her and her team lol. Old Hermione came, saw, clicked affectionate photos and delivered her stamp of approval to the new, PoC Hermione. She talked about it in her essay/post about how she approves of the new choice when in fact the new actress was miles ahead of Watson in her acting range irrespective of whether or not she suited Hermione, and the media articles were also made to highlight the 'Watson the saviour of marginalized people coming to the rescue of the black actress against trolls who were hating on having a black Hermione'. Looks tone deaf on her part like the black boss comment, bcs why did she think the new actress needed her approval for doing a job is strange to me. The term approval implies permission, and only the creators or fans can be associated in that role. I'm not surprised anymore to discover her shamelessly fame-generating tactics but still sometimes wonder if she never feels embarrassed or self conscious about this when she goes in with all her confidence and performs for this media circus that she orchestrated to the T in advance.

I'm not surprised that most of them feel that way. They've played the characters since they were pre-teens. Dan played the lead, but maybe he also has some negative memories attached to it what with his drinking and all. But he must also be a rational thinker and knows that he doesn't own the character and knew that someone else would play it again in the future.

Where Emma is concerned, she really did make a big deal of it. On the one hand I think it's nice to let people know she liked Noma Dumezweni, because there was a lot of backlash about a poc taking over the role. But we know that she also saw it as a great opportunity for herself.

[araminakilla]

Faris D'jinn (long) appreciation post

Warning: If you don't like very long posts or deep analysis of a character or situations, maybe you want to skip this. But you are always welcome.

I will always say this: Treasure of the found lamp! is one of my favorites episodes of the Ducktales bomb (the other is Nothing can stop Della Duck!) I like the jokes, the journeys of the two groups, the cameos of different characters that appeared in Season One. But most of all... Him.

Faris D'jinn. Middle Eastern adventurer. Seeker of the lamp. Descendant of an actual genie and the amazing woman who freed him. Here are ten reasons (not counting the facts that he is a great swordman and a cool biker because everyone knows that) of why this warrior is one my favourite characters in the Ducktales universe:

1. He is not what he seems

The first time I saw this guy in the SDCC 2018, and the person presenting the characters said he was Dijon from the Ducktales movie, there were two different reactions from my part:

"OMG! They acknowledged the movie. That means Merlock is going to return!" And...

"This Dijon looks so COOL! But...he looks like a terrorist"

And before you sue and attack me, there are some comments in YouTube that reflected my thoughts. One of them said he looks like an ISIS member.

But I have investigated and I found out that in fact, there are some people that wear traditional black clothes in the Middle East and are NOT asociated with violence or radical groups. So, my bad people. I'm really ashamed for making this statement. I try to not be an ignorant of different cultures for reasons like this.

Anyway, those months I tried to stay positive that, if he was a bad guy, he could get a redemption arc. Because there's no way that this awesome Ducktales crew, that handles the Latino community very well, is going to portray arabs in a bad light, just like every old Hollywood productions (I'm looking at you, Aladdin)

And when the promo of Ducktales and Big Hero 6 appeared, with this warrior using his sword in front of a very scared Scrooge... well... I put my thoughts on another post, but I was a little concerned for the Middle Eastern representation.

Great was my surprise when I saw the episode for the first time. Let say that the power of the lamp wasn't the only plot twist of that episode.

2. He's so serious that it's funny

His single-minded quest for the lamp before the Ifrit's dawn (a fact that he monologued for 10 minutes without blinking) leaves him with no time to joke around, except everyone around him is a goof, and that makes him hilarous in a sense. Best demostrated when he answered ALL the riddles from a literal JOKE BOOK. He's so smart... yet so gullible that it's amazing. It's like he can't tell when someone is lying or making a joke... I don't know if that's possible. There's also his reaction at the "got your nose" prank which, honestly to me, was one of the best reactions EVER. Maybe it's how he screamed "monster!" and how he seems to really believe the creature got his nose. Truth to be to told, I was very surprised the first time I saw him laugh, that was something unexpected. And how the premise of the episode was him getting a family of adventuring Ducks, a greek Godness, a sea monster and a bunch of Beagles involved in a quest...to give himself a birthday present, like... Who gives himself a birthday present? (Really, I don't know someone who does that)

3. He is grateful even with enemies

He defeated Charybdis and the poor monster was whipped and given the beat of his life because he wanted to help Scrooge and Webby with the phony quest, and the first thing the warrior does is thanking him and saying that he will be remembered in the story of the lamp. That impressed me... And somehow made worth all the pain that Charybdis had. The same happened with the "Minotaur" and Ma Beagle (the little bow that he made is priceless). Many people would mock their defeated enemies and give them zero respect... but not him. That was so honorable, it reminded me of how Medieval Knights act, which would be discussed in the seventh point of this post.

4. He forgave the Ducks easily

"Djinn, I'm sorry I tricked you. If I'd known what was at stake..."

"Another chapter in the legend. A final trial before we find the lamp! It's all part of the journey!"

Like wow... That was something I was NOT expecting, because I wouldn't expect a guy who was shouting and slicing things all day to be that... nice. And maybe that could be because there was no time in the episode for the liar revealed drama. But the points D'jinn made about why he forgave Scrooge make total sense. He loves adventures and journeys, he likes to write in a scroll about the trials he had, so he instead took the positives aspects that the phony quest had and continue with his life. Now that's something you don't see very often. Instead of swearing revenge and dedicate his time ruining someone's life (I'm looking at you Glomgold, Magica, Negaduck and other villains) he forgave the Ducks, focused on the present and keep only the most important facts. I like that way of thinking.

5. He has a deep love for his family's history (and his heritage and bloodline)

He comes from a family that, as far as I'm concerned, keeps the stories of their past alive, passing them to the next generations. It's been ten generations since the genie was freed. What the ex-magical creature got was more valuable that having phenomenal cosmic powers: A loving wife and many descendants who remember them with such passion, and now one of said descendants, fascinated by their love story has adquired the "totem that started it all". I heard that arabs in particular are family oriented people, they would do ANYTHING for their loved ones, and that's the first time I saw that in a cartoon (at least in a Disney cartoon, the other example that is Non-Disney is the Oscar nominated "The Breadwinner", which I recommend you guys have to see it, it's so good)

D'jinn made a long journey from the Middle East to America (at least I think Duckburg is in America) for a powerless lamp because of it's sentimental value, which leads us to the next point...

6. He is a sentimental guy

You wouldn't expect a tough, serious and to some extent dangerous guy to have powerful feelings like love? Right? Think again. There's a reason of why the call D'jinn (and his VA, Omid Abtahi) a cinnamon roll. He has strong emotions, that is (I think) one of the reasons of why he's so dramatic. It's part of his personality. In fact, his volatile personality (using many times his sword, cutting things, flipping a table) has a solid base of why it is the way it is. I'm not saying that destroying the couch and threatening the Duck family is not wrong, I'm saying this because this is NOT a matter of the "He's an arab and all arabs are volatile/barbaric/will scream and attack you 'cause that is their nature" thing that all the Hollywood movies I saw (at least the examples I saw in the documentary "Reel Bad Arabs") have. No sir, this is different.

And talking about Arab stereotypes...

7. He's a HUGE improvement from the Ducktales movie and series

Back in 1990, he was Dijon, a thief and mook to Merlock, the Big Bad Wolf of the Movie. He was funny and the interactions he had with Scrooge in the movie and the series are funnier (Also, did you know that the last words Scrooge said in the series was "Dijon!" because the duck was running towards him 'cause he stole his watch?)

But, as the Nostalgia Critic put it in his review of the Ducktales Movie

"I don't know... Is this considered racist now? Yes, he has an accent and is a thief..."

He's fine as a comic relief, but nothing makes him different from the Crows of Dumbo, or the Indians of Peter Pan, or the Siamese cats of Lady and the Tramp, or...

Honest Trailer's guy: Stop it!

OK ok. The point it's... The Ducktales reboot did it again. They took a not so well liked character from the '87 series and made him/her a lovable character, like Mamá Cabrera (I swear, she's also mi mamá now)

Now he's honorable, charming, etc (and yes, those words are from a YouTuber reviewer) But specialy, they changed his name to Faris D'jinn which not only sounds more arabic, but also foreshadows his relationship with a genie. Plus, Faris means "Knight" in arabic, which describes what he is and how he acts perfectly.

8. He's different but at the same time just like everyone else

Gif belongs to @i-mostly-reblog-things

Yeah, he looks different, speaks with an accent that's not American, has a different mindset about things in life and maybe that could come from the country he's been raised, or his family or maybe he decide to be the way he is on his own accord. But, as an lesson learned in the episode "The Depths of cousin Fethry!"

Just because something or someone is different doesn't mean is bad.

True, D'jinn didn't make a first good impresion with the Duck family, except from Webby (You go girl! It seems that she has a talent to see edgy but misunderstood people and give them a chance) but at the end everyone was celebrating his birthday with him. They give him a cake! This small but powefull gesture made me 100% convinced that, even with flaws and conflicts, they are the perfect family. It still surprises me that the crew of Ducktales and Disney would make a scene like that. If someone told me a year ago that they would make a scene with: An arab. Dressed with traditional clothes (turban and all). Wearing all black. Celebrating his/her birthday with an American (Scotish in Scrooge's case) Family, I would have laugh and say: Yeah, sure, like they would actualy show that.

But they did it and I couldn't be more happy.

Just a pause from this Ducktales' post

Some of you could be thinking as you read this: "Nice that your people are shown in a positive way"

The thing is... I'm not arab. I'm a latinoamerican who just happens to love Middle Eastern cultures. My country isn't very prejuiced towards Middle Eastern people (maybe because there's a few of them) but I have come from a long way. To being sure that everything there was just sand and violence to wanting to visit some of the many wonders that the East has to give, meet people and learn their point of view. I think everyone should do that at some point, instead of, you know, getting all your arab information from Hollywood movies and concluding that everything would be better if the Middle Easterns were dead. As this quote from the YouTube Documentary "Reel bad Arabs" states:

"We feel that Arabs are not like us, are not like everyone else, then let's kill them off, then they deserve to die, right?"

The thing is, they are more similar that we think, it's just that the international media doesn't show that... until now.

And going back with Ducktales

Yeah, this dude looks different, but he laughs, feels, and enjoys having a great time just like everyone else.

It's the same that is happening with Fenton and the latino representation. D'jinn is a hero who happens to be arab. A dramatic warrior. A family values man. A great allie, friend and who knows what many things more. He, and other Ducktales characters, have so many layers that it's incredible. Just like people, you can't define someone only from their personality or their race. There are so many things that make a person unique. D'jinn broke the expectations I had for him (or he sliced them with his sword) for the better.

9. He's better than Aladdin in many ways

By starters, the voice actors. Aladdin's VA is American and has an American accent in the movie. D'jinn's VA is Omid Abtahi, born in Iran, a Middle Eastern actor. And I'm not saying arab because Irani people are not Arabs (correct me if I'm wrong). Omid doesn't have an accent, as far as I know, but I think it's a nice detail to have the warrior being voiced by someone who comes from the same place. Then, we have the fact that Aladdin lied to almost everyone and D'jinn was a victim of a lie. True, the Ducks assumed he was going to kill them all (and for a good reason) but a lie is still a lie. I don't know many things about Middle Eastern clothes and fashion in the past and the present, but I can tell you will find (maybe traditional) people who wears something more close to D'jinn than Aladdin, and I'm pretty sure the warrior would free a genie if he has the chance because he's a descendant of one. But apart from their differences, both are really good people with a big heart and a kind soul, it's just that we find out Aladdin is good in the beggining of the movie with the bread and orphans scene and with D'jinn almost in the end of the episode, because to be honest, I was expecting him to be lying about wanting to protect the lamp and instead working for the new Merlock, since that was his role in the original movie. Many of us expected a lying thief, but instead we got another Diamond in the Rough.

10. He is a key for one of Scrooge's character developments

Gif belongs to @everythingducktales

The richest duck in the World was SO impressed by the warrior's story that he opened a museum of valuable artifacts so he can share his stories with his family and the world. Let's repeat that. Scrooge McDuck, a very famous, very important and proud adventurer took the advice of a stranger (he also was 100% sure this stranger would kill him and his family if he doesn't get what he wants) because he saw his "human" side, a family side that made the duck realize "maybe we are not so different after all".

Not even the Buzzards (people who worked with Scrooge for who knows what many years) were capable of convincing Scrooge to do some of their plans (but lets be honest, their plans are awful)

That made him be more open about his adventures, his past experiences and his treasures, each one with a unique story. Maybe that would prevent unfortunate yard sales in the future.

Bonus:

11. He is going to return

It is confirmed in one of Frank Angones' posts that he is going to appear in the future, maybe as an allie of the Duck family in an adventure. Or who knows? Maybe they can recruit him as a member of a superheroes team along with Gizmoduck, Darkwing Duck and others. Plus, I want to see him interact with Launchpad and Donald.

That would be all... for now.

[fly-pow-bye]

DuckTales 2017 - “Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks!”

Story by: Francisco Angones, Madison Bateman, Colleen Evanson, Christian Magalhaes, Bob Snow

Written by: Madison Bateman and Francisco Angones

Storyboard by: Stephanie Gonzaga, Krystal Uretra, Brandon Warren

Directed by: Matthew Humphreys

The big return we all waited for.

Apologies for anyone expecting any ThunderCats 1985 today, because my new main show is back, and I have priorities. Maybe I'll go back to ThunderCats 1985 if people really want it, but for right now, new DuckTales, woo-oo.

This brand new season starts with a Woodchuck graduation ceremony, where Scoutmaster McQuack reads a speech about how the Woodchuck's teachings mix the knowledge of the old and the discoveries of the new, and how he should not read the directions on what painting to point to. In this ceremony, the Junior Junior Woodchucks become Junior Woodchucks, the Junior Woodchucks become the Senior Junior Woodchucks, and one particular Senior Junior Woodchuck will get the highest rank a Woodchuck could have: a Senior Woodchuck. One particular Senior Junior Woodchuck is ready to receive that honor, as he managed to memorize the speech to the point where he can lip sync Launchpad's lines.

Launchpad slowly introduces this would be as a close personal friend, which signals to me that the question isn't how Huey is going to accept this honor, but what unexpected person ends up being the candidate instead.

Launchpad slowly introduces this would be as a close personal friend, which signals to me that the question isn't how Huey is going to accept this honor, but what unexpected person ends up being the candidate instead.

As expected, this star candidate is a different person than Huey thought it would be, as he slowly inches backward, and that candidate is...Violet! I can imagine some pushback for this twist, as even Huey questions how Violet would be a star candidate if she never been to any Woodchuck Jamborees. Huey has always seen himself as the greatest Junior Woodchuck since the beginning of the show, and now this relatively new character that barely did anything special and was mostly just Webby 2 is now going to usurp Huey's throne?

Well, not really. It turns out, Huey ends up being the second star candidate, though Launchpad only seems to know him as Dewey's brother. The Scoutmaster declares that the two candidates must race in the Junior Woodchuck Wilderness Challenge! The crowd cheers the favorite's name, and unfortunately for Huey, it's not him. Everyone loves Violet!

Going away from that for a bit, we have to talk about the theme song, as Season 3, much like Season 2, has a twist on the opening theme. Aside from having to shorten it for this episode, Della Duck appears along with her family now. Now that she's established herself as a character in this series, and not just a shocking plot twist, it's only fitting she appears now. Hopefully we’ll get to see where she fits in the full opening if this season ever has it.

As Huey ponders about his existence as only being the second choice for being a Senior Woodchuck, Scrooge looks fondly at the same painting Launchpad was told to point to. Louie knows where this is going.

Louie: Cute story about Scrooge as a lad in three, two, one...

That painting is of legendary explorer Isabella Finch, and Scrooge read a collection of her adventures as a wee lad. This even includes some more of those well drawn Golden Book-esque illustrations of him as a kid reading her book and Finch herself proving her legendary status. She was a legend even to Scrooge McDuck, a legend in his own right, and Scrooge says that her legacy should be respected. He shows this by grabbing the map she was holding in it, shocking everyone in the room.

He calms down the kids by saying she totally meant for someone to grab that hidden map right from the painting. He just wants to respect her legacy by finding a treasure she decided to hide. This leads to a B plot, which I will talk about later.

Back to the A plot, the big challenge is described: race to each trail marker, put their flag on them, and survive with the help with their knowledge of the Woodchucks until they reach the final marker on the mountain's peak. Whoever gets their flag on the last trail marker wins the coveted Senior Woodchuck status. There is another stipulation that really hits Huey hard: it's not an open-book challenge, as McQuack already confiscated it earlier. This does add to the tension: he always carried the Woodchuck Guidebook with him and consulted its guidance, but can Huey pass a test without its help?

Huey seems to think so, as he was born ready for this. At least, that's what he tells himself and his opponent, and Violet isn't exactly swayed by this. In fact, she says that he is as ready as a helpless baby. Lena told her that friendly smack-talk is good for competition. Huey, remembering his sportsmanship, doesn't take the insult and instead holds out his hand for a handshake to start this friendly competition. They don't quite get that handshake going before Scoutmaster McQuack blows his airhorn, and that might be some foreshadowing.

As the race begins, Scrooge, Donald, Della, and the kids that are not named Huey go out in an expedition for the hidden treasure of Isabella Finch. Unfortunately for Scrooge, this dancing, whistling bird keeps popping up with a distracting song that Dewey can't help but dance to. Scrooge is annoyed by the bird, as much as everyone else thinks the bird is the word. No, they didn't license that song, thankfully.

That's really it for B plot, to be honest. There is a good amount of convergence of the two plots throughout this episode, but it doesn't really amount to much until the very end. It wasn’t that I was dreading these scenes, as there are some good moments here and there, but otherwise, eh.

Huey ends up thinking, only to find that not only has Violet managed to get to the first marker, and not only did Violet have enough time to write Huey a letter saying that if he's holding the letter, he's in second place, she even stood on by to ask Huey if that was good smack talk. Huey is angered by this, and throws the crumpled up letter to the ground...which he then has to pick up, because littering the environment is not what a Boy Scout should do. It is easy to notice Huey isn't doing very well at this without his almighty guidebook, and this is taking a toll even on his ability to be a good Woodchuck.

The obstacle before the next trail marker is rain. Not just any rain either, but the Lightning Rain of Chimpopo, as described by Scrooge in the B plot. That's the convergence; since they're exploring the same ground, it only makes sense that they go through the same obstacles and deal with them in different ways. Also, Chimpopo? Not the first thing I thought I heard, as someone who watched South Park.

Huey does run across some rubber plant, which would help him with this lightning rain, but he struggles to get it off of the ground. Violet, who already has a makeshift helmet, even helps him out by telling him to. She doesn't really have an understanding of how competitions or sick burns work, and Huey is losing his understanding of how to be a good sport and how to survive in the wilderness, as he eventually gets lost. If only there was some sort of guidebook somewhere else, not necessarily a literal guidebook...

...but the guidebook that rests in his own mind. It even talks, calling himself J.W. Guidebook, and giving him helpful hints like putting a stick in the ground and following the sun via that stick's shadow. With that imaginary guidebook that represents his inner knowledge after studying the book for so long, nothing can stop him now.

Then a bear shows up. Once again, a regular bear. I wonder if their existence is going to come up when Baloo makes his appearance. Hey, it's not a spoiler if he appeared on the poster. Anyway, he ends up using rope to climb a nearby tree, knowing that Violet wouldn't figure that one out.

Of course, she did figure that one out, though this time he managed to do it at the same time. Violet calms him down with another bit of trash talk, courtesy of her friend Lena.

Violet: If it makes you feel better, Lena told me "first is the worst and second is the best." Though, factually that's wrong by any metr...iiiick! (branch breaks)

Thankfully for her, she lands on a different branch, one that happened to have a beehive that she can chop off the tree and cause the bear to run away. Is that really a Junior Woodchuck thing to do, though? It's not like they're cutting down trees, but this seems pretty bad for the bees. It solves the problem anyway, so who cares.

Unfortunately, she does get stuck on that branch, as there's no branch nearby to rope to. According to J.W., this is a perfect chance for Huey to prove his memorization of the Woodchuck rules, as "Me Rule 17" states that a Woodchuck looks out for their fellow Woodchucks.

Unfortunately, following the guidebook's guidance is nothing compared to his unwillingness to let Violet take his throne as the nerdiest of the nerds, as Louie put it, and he decides to leave Violet behind. Huey finds out that Violet is able to find a way up the tree without his help, using a woodpecker, so it's totally fine. Right from this scene, I could already tell how this flag race was going to end.

I may not have expected this, though. The final trial marker on top of the mountain is behind a bridge over a volcano. Okay, is this the Junior Woodchucks, or this is Battle Royale? I could believe that the lightning rain or potential bear attacks were not planned, and the Woodchucks were supposed to be prepared for this, but putting a rickety bridge over lava as the final test? Makes me wonder if Launchpad has something to hide.

After getting a guilt trip from his own head-book, Huey decides not to test the bridge to see if it would even hold up his weight. Sure, it's only been roasting over a volcano for the last however many years this challenge existed, but time is of the essence!

Sure enough, Huey's lack of preparedness leads to his literal downfall. Wow, what a way to start the season. Not only is Violet going to be the new Senior Woodchuck, I guess Violet has to be the new Huey too.

No, they reveal after the commercial break that of course Huey survives, hanging off of the bridge. Angones did promise someone was going to die, and this episode does deliver on that, but it wasn't going to be Huey. Watch the episode if you want to find out about that.

Huey has to show off by using the rope he had earlier as a tightrope. Wow, it really is the Eliminator from the Simpsons, except that was only over a bunch of thorns!

They at the very least know what convection currents are, as Violet ends up using them to power a makeshift hang-glider. Also, Huey has to dodge some fire, which would be perfect inspiration for a video game level. Eventually, even when he finally decides to do the same formation Lisa did with that very similar obstacle in an outright evil military school, Huey slips off. Is this the end?

Of course not. Violet ends up saving Huey, reminding him of the Junior Woodchuck rule to always help out their fellow woodchucks. As Huey realizes, that was a rule that he ignored, and he sees himself as someone who isn't a true Woodchuck unlike Violet. He almost considers throwing his Junior Woodchuck sash in the lava. Thankfully, he was convinced not to do that by Violet. How? By telling him throwing away your former achievements is kind of silly?

One thing that convinces Huey is that there happens to be a "failure" Junior Woodchuck badge, and she got at least one of them. She says she had failed many times before now, and with those failures, she has learned to be the best. It's a little bit less than winning the whole thing, but he accepts the fate anyway, as his guilt wouldn't let him put the flag on. That badge is not nearly as random as it seems; being able to accept failure is a virtue, and that's something Huey gets to learn.

As he lets Violet put the flag on the final trail marker, the little section in the middle of the volcano lowers into a cavern, where Scoutmaster Launchpad is ready to divvy out the award. I was almost expecting a twist where they reveal the volcano wasn't real. I guess that wouldn't explain the lightning rain, though. Or the actual convection currents that were coming off of it. We don't really get that.

Huey accepts his failure badge from Scoutmaster McQuack, coming right from his own sash which even has a compartment of the many, many times he has failed, and Violet becomes the new Senior Woodchuck. Della Duck isn't too happy that her son didn't get the big prize of the episode, and has to be calmed down. After having to experience lightning rain and bears, I couldn't blame her. In the end, everyone is happy.

Proud of this achievement are two characters that, almost like a certain ogre cop from a recent Disney movie, say absolutely nothing and can easily be removed from the scene with no harm done to the plot. It is a shame that Disney couldn't go any further with the LGBT representation without having to gut the entire episode for other countries, but I'll take anything we can get at this point.

It turns out that, by accepting the annoying bird, it led them right to the treasure they were looking for, much to Scrooge's delight and slight confusion! What was the treasure? All I can say is that we end with a tease that is basically the same as the tease from the last episode, though it comes with essentially a preview of what's to come. Watch the episode for more details on that.

How does it stack up?

There's really nothing wrong with this episode. Despite giving me a feeling in the beginning of the episode, it didn't make me hate Webby 2, er, Violet. Honestly, considering this season was teased to be the "Huey gets to learn something" season, it's not a bad opener to start with. It's just not extraordinary.

Same deal with the ThunderCats reviews: DuckTales 2017 will get the out of 5 rating system as well. I'm tired of giving "low happies" and "low neutrals", they're 4s and 2s, respectively. Meet the new rating system, where I rate 1 to 5 Scrooges. Remember: I do rate on a relative scale, and DuckTales, along with the legacy of the Disney Ducks, is usually good. This one is merely a 3.

Next, TGIF. Or, TGIS, in this case.

← Moonvasion! 🦆 Quack Pack! →

[maneaterwithtail]

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I disagree at least one aspect.

How about this I've been thinking about introducing a character who is male and uses a traditional form of Viking magic that was noted to make or require men to act or appear as women this is Even tied into certain myths about Odin and how he was presented.

This however would understandably change both the history presentation and what have you of the Asgard in Marvel Comics. This is very important because if we want ad and more gay characters then we by necessity add in the entire identity of being gay. And with that gay subculture, gay history, and gay politics. All of which is going to be relevant in one degree or another to their life. And some of this stuff isn't directly political just so much as it's so in congruous from common assumption that it's going to be in contrast and conflict to both the established narratives of the fiction and the expectations of the audience

This is going to be necessary point. A need for this Single Character to be a gateway to Gay Culture or gay lifestyle where previously none existed for the world.

But this isn't just a burden it's also an opportunity I mean how have or how do the Asgard and Marvel Comics handle people being gay? In fact because of how gay has been erased in our society and how it by its own existence undermines a lot of social narratives kind of requires a more nuanced and complex way of viewing the world just to bring up even if the basic idea is very simple to get across - the idea of someone preferring their own gender in terms of romantic Pursuits. But that often has a knock-on effect with the number of people who we know for one thing also actually being gay. And this isn't just surface-level sketches. I mean remember finding Mary Poppins? The author of that book was a lesbian but in a supposed true story biopic this wasn't depicted. Erasure is a phenom a gay character contends

This is kind of the problem with increased representation it by necessity means disturbing pre-established narratives. Unfortunately this likely means your character is going to be or highly defined by their own Identity or have to import a lot of pre under stood identity politics or social narratives just by being a focus of distinction.

Now personally I think superhero comics are not well suited for this because a core of their appeal is action as opposed to drama or Romance. Having a coming-of-age drama deal with the fact that one or two or all of your characters are not straight or cisgendered is completely easy. After all the change of identity as you come to yourself as a large part of coming-of-age drama, so learning that you have an attraction to the same gender or that you may have be different gender expression easily slots into the beats and expectations of that

Unfortunately action-based conflicts don't exactly allow or are not well suited for dealing with struggles with being a minority even if you're past the hardships that are so going to inform where your character ended up in life. Not every person who's gay has trouble with their parents. But it's at the very least a very common and unique circumstance. There's going to be history there.

there's going to be weight there and it's such a large part of the gay identity that a large part of gay identity literature and politics centers around this reality. For instance part of the reason why intersectionality in terms of social justice or socialism has such a gay bent is because the implication that you can rely on traditional support structures such as church or family is not something that can be safely assumed if you've been gay for the last 50 years. There have been active campaigns to get rid of support network and infrastructure for gay communities. Or just dismissal so subject to crime and abuse. And traditional mainstream ones have actively excluded them such as the conflicts with the Salvation Army or other homeless shelters.

This is despite the fact that if you were a teenager and homeless chances are it's because you are LGBT and you've been kicked out of your home. This is especially important as you try to tackle social issues as a means of conflict and superheroes have been doing that longer than we've been recasting this character or that character as gay or black.

Finally there's just the fun in world-building what kind of gay community exists in a world where Captain America has been real since World War II. Has there been for instance at Revival of pagan beliefs with the onset of Thor? What kind has there been in what relationship do the asgardians have with it? They started to address some of this in one of the reboots of Thor but admittedly that was how they conflicted with conservative Christians in the Midwest. How do the actual Pagan face revivals that have been happening in Scandinavian countries intersect with the arrival of the MCU asgardians not least of which they don't fit the traditions and faith but may have inspired them or rip them off

These are all interesting plot threads but they grow from drama and not action. So I think in some ways superhero comics are trying to transition from action to more alternative Fantastical dramas. And considering that's been a big draw in terms of television and movies from Game of Thrones to Supernatural to God knows what else such as the Hunger Games Twilight The Vampire Diaries

and finally yeah some traditions do need to be attacked. The idea that everyone is straight except for a few crazy people who are gay who we should ignore at all times... it's probably at the heart of a lot of abuse. Whereas assuming queer Theory as a foundational truth meaning that not everyone is straight and gender and sexuality don't work as they have been traditionally thought of it's probably an okay thing especially as it's something that's understood to be the reality of the current zeitgeist as well as the audience.

Even people who consider themselves straight likely have had one or two phases of bisexuality or experimenting with gender. At the very least it's easier because everyone can pick a female Avatar. Or activities that are associated with being feminine are thought of as more gender-neutral such as fashion makeup romance or what have you

at the very least tapping into this thing that the young which is a major part of comics, it can't always just be to old people and how they see the world, it's important to give that a chance. especially as sexuality and gender identity are actual character traits whereas race is a bit more superficial unless we're talking about Heritage or more along the lines of ethnicity. for instance take Kamala Khan, for the most part I think she's a good character. Now there are bit pieces where things feel a little on-the-nose but it is very much aimed at a younger audience that comes from an ethnically diverse neighborhood they probably want someone to address the racial tensions that they've grown up with not least of which have been the issues with how Muslims are perceived and how their own culture and traditions have a plurality under a dome that's often reacted to hostilely

Finally some of its just adjustment both for the fans and the authors. I mean how did you really feel about Miles Morales when he first started? how did people react to him? you needed time to adjust to the idea that Peter got killed off and replaced with this guy who was very deliberately something of a token hire. and Brian Michael Bendis needed time to actually write a distinct character with his own feel and interesting ideas

finally listen to the music that kids are listening to ,read the web comics that they follow, or the Twitter discussions that they do and especially the manga that they're following and how they discuss it. I really do think that if we want Comics to remain they're going to have to change and one of those changes are going to have to be how they can appeal more to modern audiences, females, and yes trans

And some of this is going to require the characters in the world that they inhabit change in terms of assumption and presentation. There need to be gay and trans people as a community in a society that's so obvious that it's something that you discussing kindergarten without it being treated as exposing them to porn

[fly-pow-bye]

Powerpuff Girls 2016 - “The Bubbles-Sitters Club”

Written by: Haley Mancini, Jake Goldman

Written & Storyboarded by: Jaydeep Hasrajani, Leticia Abreu Silva

Directed by: Nick Jennings, Bob Boyle

Cartoon Network's Not-So-Great Idea.

The episode starts with Bubbles reading a comic strip named Smarmaduke. Get it, like Marmaduke! I'll give them this: a talking, smarmy dog does have a lot more potential than a half of century of "Great Danes are big" jokes.

This leads to Bubbles wanting a dog. Her reasoning? Because her life is so boring without one! Blossom, eating her cereal, reminds her about the whole "saving Townsville" thing they apparently do offscreen in this reboot, but Bubbles finds that boring. Yeah, forget superhero stories, this puppy plot is where it's at!

The Professor explains further that it takes a lot of responsibility to take care of a pet, and Bubbles is not ready for it. Bubbles is shocked at this accusation, and asks the Professor three reasons why she isn't responsible. Cue a montage, complete with some wacky Sesame Street-inspired numbers. Because Bubbles is the childish one!

She left the water on, causing the house to flood! A very quick scene, unlike the other two.

Blossom tells Bubbles to keep an eye on a tied up Gangreen Gang while she goes and gets the cops, because the Puffs can't possibly deal with them themselves, but she ends up getting distracted by a butterfly! This leads to the Gangreen Gang escaping from rope, proving that they are stronger than the Reboot Puffs.

While a pirate goes to the "little captain's room", Bubbles wrecks his ship on an iceberg she was specifically told to avoid! Random!

Blossom finds a classified ad asking for a dog-sitter, no experience necessary. Seeing this as a test, they all agree that if she can pass it, she can have a dog. Bubbles promises the Professor that he can say goodbye to the irresponsible Bubbles he once knew. I got to used to saying goodbye to the Bubbles I once knew.

Bubbles gets her puppy from a strange old lady. This is the second hint that something can't be right, as the old lady just closes the door slowly. The first being, of course, "no experience necessary". Something's rotten in the city of Townsville, but Bubbles doesn't mind at all.

The episode uses Pauly's face as a transition throughout the episode. Very often, they use this transition between two scenes that take place in the same location. This is where you should have a "later" title card.

Blossom and Buttercup come home, Buttercup talking about how she licks ice cream off of bathroom floors, to a completely thrashed house. It turns out, Pauly isn't exactly well trained, and Bubbles isn't that good at training him. He eats up one of Blossom's favorite slippers, starts eating Buttercup's very stretchy hair, and he "makes a mess" behind the couch. That's pretty much a required joke with inexperienced pet owners.

The problem is that Bubbles just refuses to tell him "no", and Blossom tries to teach her.

Blossom: You have to tell him no if you want him to be good!

Bubbles: But he really likes being bad!

I wonder what the twist of the episode is. Suddenly, the dog keeps hitting his head on the couch. Seeing this as the dog having too much energy, Blossom tells Bubbles to take her dog for a walk. When she does, the dog keeps stopping at different stores. He stops at a pie store, but Bubbles tells him dogs don't eat pie. Pauly gives Bubbles those puppy dog eyes, and she allows him to go in. She eventually tells him that she won't buy anything else for him.

One dog transition later, and Bubbles buys absolutely everything for him. Even a treadmill to have him walk while they're walking, which she stops to lampshade. She even outright monologues about not being able to put her foot down. While she's talking to herself, Pauly starts robbing the diamond store she stopped by with a bat. What a twist, Pauly really likes being bad!

I know what some people might be thinking, and I'll answer that this is completely different from the original Cat Man Do. Get this, while that episode was about the Powerpuff Girls adopting an evil cat, this episode is about one of the Powerpuff Girls adopting an evil dog! It's totally different.

Also, this dog isn't an evil genius bent on turning man's best friend into the head of the house. He's just an ordinary robber, who happens to be a dog. Specifically, he reveals himself to be Pug-Faced Pauly, the greatest robber and criminal mastermind in Townsville. How does he reveal this?

By talking, of course. No, this isn't a "The Wild Thornberrys"-like way to show an animal talking to something with the gift of gab, Bubbles, and Buttercup later in the episode, outright says that he can talk. What use is the ability to talk to animals if every important animal seems to have human vocal cords? I wonder how Talking Dog feels about that.

In response, Bubbles does the thing she does best: tell the dog that he's a bad dog while shrinking her face. I didn't feel the need to screenshot it, because you can just look at the other 50 times I had to. She also threatens to take him to jail, without the help of those all important cops. The dog tells her that they put "bracelets" on her too for technically being his accomplice.

Oh, and he also says that Bubbles will never own a dog. Guess which one Bubbles is more worried about.

Not willing to lose her dog, Bubbles agrees to a new life of crime. We learn this from a bunch of alliterative headlines from the Town Enquirer. I guess Townsville doesn't think too highly of itself to put its name on the newspaper. Another difference from Cat Man Do: Hypnosis is not involved; Bubbles is just easy to force into these kinds of plots.

Blossom and Buttercup see Bubbles' head, covered with a mask, in the paper. Of course, Buttercup has to think about who it is for a while, because this show has to avert our expectations by making Buttercup the silly one in this episode. Blossom figures it out immediately, and they just somehow know where she is.

Before they get there, the dog is robbing another store. Bubbles is ordered to get the getaway car, which she brings by literally carrying it on her back. This plays both to the fact that she can’t drive and how she’s a superhero that can lift heavy things. Finally, another measure of her strength. A far less impressive one than the building full of people, but a little closer to her apparent strength in the rest of the reboot.

The rest of the Powerpuff Girls show up to stop Bubbles from obeying her dog. Buttercup tells him she's ready to knock off a few of his nine lives. Blossom tells Buttercup that's cats, not dogs. It's funny because Buttercup is the pinhead of the episode! Also, wanna guess how she says it?

Buttercup: KNOCK OFF A FEW OF YOUR NINE LIVES!

It's also "funny" because it's off-model and badly animated! That's still a gag they're going to return to. I was hoping it wasn't, but here you go. Pauly blows a dog whistle, and a bunch of dogs show up. Even that strange old lady shows up, and she reveals herself to be...a dog with a duck's body! There's good twists, and there's twists that are completely random. It never really goes anywhere, and it's not even worth a screenshot.

I was expecting some sort of copout on this. The Powerpuff Girls, with their car-lifting strength, should have no problem with these dogs. Even with the Reboot Puffs, while they get beaten up by giant monsters or powerful robots, these are just ordinary dogs with human vocal cords and sense of style. But, they can’t possibly show a bunch of dogs getting beaten up, right?

Surprisingly, that’s what happens. Blossom and Buttercup fight a bunch of dogs in the same way they punched bank robbers. They tie into the dog theme by covering up most of the impact with hit flashes with dog puns in them. Fitting!

Bubbles is still conflicted, though, because she can't possibly disobey Pauly. While Blossom and Buttercup is fighting the dogs, they tell her to join in, while Pauly tells her to keep on doing crime. Eventually, the bickering causes Bubbles to snap, and she throws the getaway car at the dog. Wow, that's kind of harsh. He was an evil pug, but still.

Nah, I'm kidding. Bubbles turns him in, Pauly only slightly bruised. She even gets all the credit, and doesn't have to go to jail despite being his accomplice, despite what Pauly threatened earlier. I would say Townsville realized having one of the reasons why their city isn’t a crater in the ground in "sing-sing" isn’t a good idea, but anyone other than Buttercup is kind of expendable in this reboot.

With the help of the Professor, who only appears in the beginning and end of the episode to tell the kids the moral, Bubbles learns that you have to be responsible for your pets, especially if they turn out to be criminals. She even reveals she got a new pet, who happens to be Reboot Jojo dressed like a cat! Is it Reboot Jojo in disguise doing a villainous plot, or is this another “Make Reboot Jojo the weakest villain” joke? It's the latter. Trust me.

Does the title fit?

Bubbles is a dog-sitter. While it's another "replace a word with a character's name" title, It's a little better because Bubbles and Baby both start with a B and have two syllables. That's how low the standards have to be with PPG 2016 titles.

How does it stack up?

I was worried this was going to be another “oh, Bubbles is so silly” episode, but it turned out to be just a boring evil animal episode. Sure, I do like that the Powerpuff Girls actually fight, but that’s like praising a dog for not peeing on the sofa. Sure, it’s pleasant, especially if said dog tends to pee on the sofa, but I should expect better.

The keyword, of course, being "should". After watching so much of this reboot, I fear that my mind is getting numbed. Not among the worst, not among the best. Closer to the worst, but not that close. I really need to higher my standards.

Next, Buttercup fights an evil adversary. Oh no, not Reboot Jojo, not Silico...it's math. Honestly, I think spelling should be PPG 2016′s mortal enemy. They've been a little better with that in Season 2, but not by much.

← Take Your Kids To Dooms Day ☆ Buttercup vs. Math →